


Criminal Seduction

by lionessvalenti



Category: White Collar
Genre: F/F, F/M, Femslash, Jossed, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-23
Updated: 2010-12-23
Packaged: 2017-10-14 00:40:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/143420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionessvalenti/pseuds/lionessvalenti
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sara tries to bargain with Kate about the Raphael.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Criminal Seduction

**Author's Note:**

> Beta read by Lefaym!

Kate pulled her jacket around her. The interrogation room made up of solid concrete blocks was small and cold. The door was solid steel and only a camera in the corner allowed anyone to see inside the room. One of the two fluorescent lights above her head flickered slightly, driving Kate a little crazy. She slumped her seat, feeling more like a petulant teenager in detention rather than a prisoner in an foreign jail. She wondered if she should be taking this more seriously.

No, probably not.

She had been waiting for almost half an hour when the door opened. A slim, red haired woman walked through the door, carrying a small black briefcase. She set the briefcase down on the table and removed her coat, revealing a dark green suit and a thin gold chain around her neck. She sat down across from Kate, not even offering a businesslike smile.

"Ms. Moreau--"

"Kate."

"I'm Sara Ellis. I work for--"

"Sterling Bosch," Kate said. "I know who you are. And I know what you want."

Sara eyed her for a moment, sizing her up, then opened the briefcase. She removed a file and pulled a photograph out, setting it on the table between them. "Do you know what this is?"

"It's a photo of Raphael's _Saint George and the Dragon_ ," Kate replied, not even looking at the photograph. Instead, she looked at Sara's perfectly manicured nails. She had them painted pale pink, and they had a slight shimmer to them. "I told you," Kate said, shifting her gaze upward, "I know what you want."

"Your boyfriend stole this painting."

"Did he?"

Sara paused, taking a deep breath. She leaned in across the table, her hand almost touching Kate's, but not quite. Kate could still feel its warmth on her own cold hands.

"I have a lot of connections," Sara said in a low voice. "If you tell me where the painting is, I can get can get you out of here."

Kate leaned in as well. She smiled, breathing in Sara's perfume. It smelled expensive and Kate wondered what's Sara's recovery fees were. Must be good to be this dedicated to one painting.

"Are we to bargaining already?" Kate whispered back, looking up at Sara through dark lashes.

"Do you want to stay in custody here?"

"Not particularly, no."

Sara smiled, as if that settled everything. "Then you want to help me."

"Look," Kate said, her smile fading, "if Neal did steal this painting, why would I tell you? I wouldn't sell out my boyfriend to some hot shit, rising star insurance investigator."

"Your boyfriend fled from the scene of a crime and left you to take the fall for him. Kate, he's already sold _you_ out."

"You're probably right." Kate shrugged and sat back in her chair. She sighed dramatically. "I suppose I'm a sentimental fool."

Sara put the photo back into her briefcase and retrieved a business card from it before snapping it shut. "You have half of that right." She set the card onto the table. "If you feel like telling me where that painting is, give me a call. The number for my cell is on the back and I've arranged it so if you want to call me, you can. My offer still stands."

Kate stared at her, then slowly slid the business card across the table, slipping it into her palm. "I'll let you know."

\--- --- ---

The next day, Kate sat in the same interrogation room, pulling her jacket sleeves down over her hands. The wait wasn't as long this time, maybe ten minutes before the door opened and Sara Ellis walked through it, her briefcase in hand.

"You said you wanted to talk," Sara said once she had sat down. "Let's talk. Where's the painting?"

Kate smiled. "I'm sorry you misunderstood. I never said I was going to talk about the painting."

"Well, that's the only thing that's going to get you out of here."

"I wanted to talk about you," Kate said, like Sara hadn't spoken.

Sara raised her eyebrows. "We're not here to talk about me."

"No, we're here to talk about some painting you think Neal stole. If he did, that would be really impressive. Neal's a show-off. I would know about it. He'd be telling everyone he knows about it. But I don't know anything. He never said a word, so I can't help you there. But I still wanted to talk to you."

"If you can't help me, we're done here." Sara stood up.

Kate stood as well. "It's not my fault that I don't know anything."

"You're assuming that I believe you."

"Look, Sara, I just -- I wanted to see you again." Kate smiled and bit her lip. "I spent all night thinking about you."

"About my offer," Sara said, tilting her head down, as though she might get a better view of Kate's intentions.

"About you."

She put her hands on her hips and looked at Kate. Her big show of professionalism seemed to have passed. Now she looked annoyed. "Do you honestly want me to believe that you're going to be this devoted to your boyfriend and hit on me? Besides, I'm straight. It won't work. Unless you have something concrete to tell me, Kate, this is goodbye."

"I don't believe you're straight," Kate said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sara, who had turned toward the door, turned back. She looked curious, and maybe she just wanted to keep Kate talking, but she took the bait. "Why is that?"

"The way you talk. The way you move. Sure, maybe you prefer men, defaulting to them when you want to get laid, because you're someone who gets what she wants, and who would be fool enough to turn you down?"

Kate paused to let her arms drop so she could rest them on the cold, metal tabletop, leaning over just enough that a hint of her cleavage was visible from inside her v-neck sweater, but keeping her gaze locked with Sara's. "But there are times when you see a woman across the room, at a party or a bar, and you want her. You want her to take care of you. You want her to kiss you softly and be gentle. You want to feel her cheek against your breast. You want her slender hand slipping beneath your skirt and moving slowly up the inside of your thigh. And when her hand finally touches against hot, damp cotton of your panties, you're trembling, and you don't want her to be gentle anymore, do you? You want her to rip off your--"

"Stop."

Kate didn't break eye contact. She didn't speak and held her breath, waiting for Sara to make the next move.

Sara set her briefcase down on the table once again. "I never want them to be gentle," she said, her voice oddly distant. "I want them to suck and bite. I want to grind myself against her face until she makes me come. I want to tie her to the bed and tease her until she screams. I want to be cruel, and I want her to be just as cruel to me."

"I can do that," Kate said.

Sara took a deep breath and her eyes flickered to the camera with its steady red light.

"There's a blind spot," Kate said without looking.

Calm and composed, Sara walked around the table. She took Kate by the wrist and slowly pulled her to the corner beneath the camera. Once they were out of the camera's all-seeing eye, Sara shoved her against the wall.

Kate grinned. Sara wasn't lying about being rough.

Sara pushed her hands up under Kate's sweater as she pressed her mouth hard to Kate's. Her teeth scraped at Kate's lips, biting down before kissing her again.

Kate moaned and wrapped her arms around Sara's waist, fingers slipping against the silky fabric of her blouse. Their mouths moved together, and Sara's hands moved slowly upward until she was groping Kate's breasts. She pushed up Kate's bra, dragging the underwire over her breasts, and dug her fingernails into Kate's nipples.

"Oh god," Kate muttered, her body twisting between Sara and the wall. The cold and the pain mixed with her arousal. She pulled Sara closer, holding her tighter before pushing her knee between Sara's legs.

Sara moved away from Kate's mouth, moaning, and kissed along her jaw, then nipping at her earlobe. She dipped her head and bit Kate's neck, sucking hard, pulling up a hickey Kate was sure wouldn't fade anytime soon.

Kate hissed. "Shit, Sara. That feels amazing."

"And I'm just getting started," Sara whispered back to her. She twisted a nipple between her fingers and whispered huskily, "Do you want to tell me about the Raphael now?"

Kate moaned, kicking her head back against the wall. Then she realized what Sara said. She dropped her head forward. "What?"

Sara pulled back an inch. "The Raphael. You can tell me."

"No, you can get me out of here." Kate pulled away from Sara, tugging down her bra and sweater.

Sara raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you thought you were doing? Playing on my weakness? I'm going to let you in on a little secret, Kate. I don't have any weaknesses, and I'm going to find that painting and your boyfriend is going to jail."

"Oh, we're sharing now?" Kate asked. "Then let me tell you something. I don't know what the hell you're talking about. I don't know about any painting and I don't know why you're so sure Neal stole it."

"Fine," Sara said. She took a step back, then walked around the table, still composed as she moved back into the camera's view. "You can rot in here. I gave you a chance." She picked up her briefcase and walked out of the interrogation room.

Kate took a deep breath and reached up to feel the spot where Sara had bitten her. It was going to be another cold night.

\--- --- ---

Sara went back to the jail the next day. She had received a call earlier telling her that Kate Moreau was ready to talk. She promised that it was about the painting. She had said that she couldn't stand another night in jail.

"Sara Ellis. I'm here to see Kate Moreau," she said, stepping up to the front desk. She glanced away from the female officer at the desk to check her watch. This would have to be quick, her flight was going to leave in just over two hours.

"Sorry," the officer said, "Moreau was released. She left fifteen minutes ago."

"Released?" Sara repeated. She shook her head. "No, that's impossible. I was called her to meet her. Why was she released?"

The officer shrugged. "It says here the charges were dropped. We couldn't hold her."

"Damn it," Sara muttered, kicking at the desk. Whatever the hell just happened, she was certain that Neal Caffrey had something to do with it. The charges are never just dropped.

She spun on a heel and headed for the door. She would definitely be able to make her flight, but empty-handed. This time.

\--- --- ---

"I'm still really sorry that took so long," Neal said, turning on the car's windshield wipers as it began to snow. "You shouldn't have had to be in there for three days. Once I realized getting the charges dropped was going to be easier than breaking you out, it went faster."

"I'm sure it took your most cunning moves," Kate said, chuckling. "Don't worry about it, I was thoroughly entertained. You know that sexy insurance investigator who's after you for the Raphael? She kept trying to get me to tell her that you stole it, and somehow we ended up making out in the camera's blind spot. That's how I got this." She craned her neck so he could see the hickey.

Neal looked at the hickey for a split second before turning his gaze back to the road ahead. "Sara Ellis is here? That painting must be more important to her than I thought. If I'd known she'd be going to this much trouble I would have stolen something else. Something better."

Kate smiled. That was about the reaction she expected out of Neal. "Well, before you showed up, I did have an officer call her and tell her I was finally ready to talk. She's going to be really happy until she finds out we're gone."

Neal laughed and reached over to take her hand. "Oh, sweetheart, I've taught you well."

Kate laughed, too. The three days in jail were definitely worth it.


End file.
